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The person almost immediately put the hood of her cloak back on when it fell off, then she was escorted by a person in black clothing into the room with a gourd hanging on its door.
Gu Jiao planned to follow, but after taking a few steps, someone grabbed her shoulder.
Gu Jiao countered with a backhand chop, but the other person held her wrist.
"It's me!"
The other party, like Gu Jiao, wore a mask, but she recognized the voice too well.
Gu Jiao lowered her hand, looking strangely at Gu Changqing who dressed like a warrior, "Why are you here?"
Gu Changqing released her hand, looked around and asked her, "I should be the one asking you that. Why are you here?"
Gu Jiao touched her own mask. Wait, how did he recognize her?
Gu Changqing's mouth twitched. He had recognized her as early as when she tricked their grandfather into having their father call her ‘father’.
Apart from her, no one else had such twisted ideas in this world.
"You still haven't answered why you came here." Gu Changqing said, looking at her solemnly.
She shouldn’t have come to such a place. Even if she had some skills, it was still too dangerous for her to be here.
Gu Jiao hesitated before saying, "If I said I was passing by and came in to borrow the restroom, would you believe me?"
Gu Changqing: "..."
Before Gu Changqing could respond, Gu Jiao continued, "What about you? Are you here to borrow the restroom too?"
Gu Changqing once again: "..."
Several people looked over at Gu Changqing. Their gaze was not unfamiliar; as though it wasn’t the first time they had seen him here.
"Why are they looking at you?" Gu Jiao asked.
"It's nothing." Gu Changqing grabbed Gu Jiao's wrist and led her into a room diagonally across.
Gu Jiao noticed that there was also a hanging gourd on the door of this room.
Oh, well.
This couldn’t be considered as her breaking in, right?
The furnishings in the room were very simple, with a folding screen, a bed, a set of table and chairs, and some antique-looking furniture, exuding a sense of antiquity and heaviness that easily made one feel awe.
Gu Jiao became even more curious.
Seeing her fearless demeanor, Gu Changqing shook his head helplessly. Those who knew would say she came to the most dangerous place in the State of Zhao, while those who didn't would think she was just strolling through a vegetable garden.
"Have a seat." Gu Changqing said as he took a seat on the chair beside the table.
Gu Jiao sat opposite him, withdrawing her gaze from looking around and fixing it at him, "Are you really here just to borrow the restroom?"
Gu Changqing’s hand that was pouring of tea paused and the corner of his mouth twitched. He said, "I'm here to find someone."
Gu Jiao nodded, "Oh, what a coincidence, I am too."
Gu Changqing looked at her speechlessly, "Didn't you just say you came to borrow the restroom?"
Gu Jiao waved her hand, "It's all the same."
Gu Changqing simply couldn't continue the conversation.
Gu Jiao was usually not talkative, but this underground martial arts arena had piqued her curiosity. She asked, "What kind of place is this? Is it just an ordinary martial arts arena?"
Ordinary...
Perhaps only this girl would think so.
Anyone who truly understood what this place was would not only be scared but also harbor a certain degree of dread.
Gu Changqing placed the tea he poured in front of her and said, "It mainly focuses on martial arts competitions, but they also engage in other businesses. Many people choose to come here for transactions because it offers good confidentiality and high security. The martial arts arena takes a 20% cut from the transactions as profit."
Gu Jiao commented, "20%? That's quite a lot."
If a transaction involved 10,000 taels of silver, the martial arts arena would receive 2,000 taels.
So, running a martial arts arena was quite profitable, huh?
However...
What was that person doing here?
To watch the martial arts competition or to conduct transactions?
As she pondered, she heard bursts of excited roars and shouts from outside.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The underground martial arts arena had four platforms, one in each direction: east, west, south, and north. At the moment, there were skilled fighters competing on all four platforms, but the one with the most spectators, the fiercest betting, and the loudest cheers was the east platform.
Coincidentally, their room faced the east platform.
Gu Jiao saw a shirtless muscular man pinning another opponent to the ground and relentlessly beating him. His face was fierce, showing no mercy in his attacks.
At this rate, the opponent would likely be beaten to death.
If this were Taihe Martial Arts School, the fight would have been stopped long ago.
As if sensing Gu Jiao's confusion, Gu Changqing explained, "The fighters here have signed life-or-death agreements. They bear the consequences of injuries or death."
This reminded Gu Jiao of the underground fighting arena in her past life, which was filled with bloodshed and violence, where no one cared about the life or death of the fighters. They even hoped to see someone beaten to death.
Gu Jiao herself was once one of those fighters.
The youngest and weakest among them.
She was sent to the fighting arena with her companions by her Godfather. Half a year later, Gu Jiao came out, while her companions were left behind forever.
Watching the brutal and fierce scene on the platform, Gu Jiao's eyes remained calm, without the slightest ripple.
"That person's clothes are strange." Gu Jiao's gaze shifted from the east platform to the south platform.
Gu Changqing glanced over and said, "That's a Turkic person."
Gu Jiao made a sound of understanding, "There are Turkic people here too?"
The Turks were a large tribe outside of the six states. Although they claimed to be a nation, they were never recognized by the six states. Their status in the eyes of the people of the six states was even lower than that of three lower countries.
However, the Turkic people were exceptionally fierce, producing many skilled fighters.
The Turkic fighter on the platform knocked out his opponent and forcefully stomped on his face with one foot, provoking and showing off by raising both arms, causing screams from the audience.
Gu Jiao's gaze fell on the defeated fighter being stepped on, "Is the one defeated also a Turkic person? His clothes are also strange."
Gu Changqing's gaze slightly hardened, clearly disapproving of the Turkic fighter's behavior. "No, he is a swordsman from the State of Qing."
Turkic expert, a swordsman from the State of Qing...
Gu Jiao found this underground martial arts arena quite unexpected.
"Who were you actually tracking earlier?" Gu Changqing got back to the main topic.
Who said that military officers had no brains? In Gu Jiao's opinion, Gu Changqing's scheming was no less than that of Gu Yan, that little cunning fox.
Just now, instead of pursuing her with questions, he sold her a lot of information to put her guard down before suddenly questioning her.
Well, there was nothing she couldn't say.
Gu Jiao responded, "I think I saw Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing just now."
"Imperial Concubine Dowager Jing?" A hint of surprise flashed in Gu Changqing's eyes. "Why would she be here? Isn't she in the palace? Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?"
"I’m sure." Gu Jiao replied.
Even if that wicked woman turned to ashes, she would recognize her.
Gu Jiao continued, "She was wearing a cloak and behaving furtively. She must have sneaked out of the palace."
As Gu Jiao spoke, she pointed her finger, "She entered that room."
Gu Changqing took a look and furrowed his brows.
"What's wrong?" Gu Jiao asked. "Oh, I forgot to ask you, what does it mean when a gourd is hanging on the door?"
Gu Changqing's expression turned serious. "It means that within this martial arts arena, one must absolutely avoid provoking the owner of the room.”
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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